1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to devices for manipulating food waste in and around sink mounted garbage disposer units, and more particularly to devices for feeding the food waste into the garbage disposer unit.
2. Description of Related Art
Garbage disposers which mount below the drain outlet of sinks for grinding up food waste are common in today""s modern kitchen. Such waste food might include waste food from food preparation such as potato peelings, trimmed fat from meat, and carrot tops, or waste food left over from the meal on the dinner plates. Such uneaten food waste is typically pushed through the drain outlet into the housing of the garbage disposer for grinding using a sponge, dish rag, or sometimes even using one""s own hands.
The food waste is fed to the rotatable blades at the bottom of the housing using a flow of water from the sink in conjunction with gravity once the food waste has been pushed into the housing of the garbage disposer. The garbage disposer can be quite slow at times using this method, especially with light weight food waste which tends to form an air pocket above the rotatable blades. Likewise, harder waste food such as bones tends to resist being contacted with the rotatable blades since such contact violently throws the bone away from the blades, sometimes even propelling the bone completely out of the garbage disposer. While pushing down on the food waste can overcome such grinding problems, such can also be very dangerous. If a long spoon or other such kitchen implement is used to manipulate and push the food waste, it can become jammed in the blades or thrown from the garbage disposer. Even worse is the use of one""s hands to manipulate and push the food waste, which can possibly contact the blades causing injury. Ideally, the food waste is pushed into the housing of the garbage disposer and the drain opening leading to the housing is covered using a plug prior to starting and during the entire time during which the garbage disposer is being run.
Various devices have been designed for manipulating such food waste from the kitchen sink into the garbage disposer. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,297,761 issued to Loos is disclosed a multi-purpose garbage disposal utensil for sweeping garbage into a garbage disposer. The utensil includes a unitary plug and downwardly disposed blade. The plug prevents the end of the blade from contacting the rotatable blades and plugs the drain hole above a garbage disposer to prevent food waste from exiting the garbage disposer during use. The utensil permits agitating the food waste to speed up and unclog the feed of garbage into a garbage disposer. A problem with the utensil is that while it facilitates rotational and lateral movement of the food waste within the housing of the garbage disposer, the thin vertically disposed blade provides little horizontal surface area for pushing the food waste downwardly towards the rotatable blades for grinding.
Another example of a manual tool for feeding food waste into a garbage disposer is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,268,080 issued to Lindley. The tool includes a unitary body with a gripping head at one end of the body. A plurality of radially spaced, longitudinally extending ribs extend downwardly from the head whereby the tool may be more easily grasped in-hand. A generally cylindrical shaft also extends downwardly from the head and ribs of such a size as to be insertable into the housing of the garbage disposer. The lower end surface of the shaft includes a pair of horizontally disposed curved surfaces with a central downwardly disposed projection therebetween for manual manipulation of the food waste within the housing of the garbage disposer. The ribs limit the depth to which the shaft of the tool may be inserted in the garbage disposer to prevent contact with the rotatable blades. The tool apparently would allow some pushing of the food waste downwardly due to the larger surface area of the cylindrical shaft. However, the tool still must be manipulated manually and does not have enough surface area to simultaneously contact the entire surface of the food waste in the garbage disposer.
Yet another example of a manual tool for feeding refuse to a garbage disposer, but which also facilitates cleaning of the sink to which the garbage disposer is attached is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,488,749 issued to Pearce et al. The tool includes a handle having a scraper extending from a first end thereof for scraping food from a surface of the sink. A plunger extends from a second end of the handle for facilitating positioning of food debris into the garbage disposer. A projection extends from the end of the plunger to aid in preventing the plunger from contacting the rotating blades of the garbage disposer. The tool still must be manipulated manually and does not have enough surface area to simultaneously contact the entire surface of the food waste in the garbage disposer.
There is a need for a tool for use with a sink mounted garbage disposer which automatically feeds the food waste within a garbage disposer to the rotating blades for grinding.
1. Advantages of the Invention
One of the advantages of the present invention is that it utilizes the slight vacuum created by a garbage disposer while grinding and disposing food waste to automatically feed the food waste contained within the garbage disposer to the rotating blades for grinding.
A further advantage of the present invention is that it stores liquid soap and automatically sprays a predetermined amount of the liquid soap into the garbage disposer while feeding the waste food.
Another advantage of the present invention is its ability to act as a conventional plunger to unclog the garbage disposer and the drain pipe connected thereto.
Yet another advantage of the present invention is its ability to spray liquid soap independently of feeding food waste by compressing the bellows of the handle.
A further advantage of the present invention is its modular design wherein the handle, the piston member, and the plunger can be designed to fit the particular garbage disposer application.
These and other advantages of the present invention may be realized by reference to the remaining portions of the specification, claims, and abstract.
2. Brief Description of the Invention
The present invention comprises a waste disposal assist tool for pushing food waste through the drain hole of a sink and through the housing of a sink-mounted garbage disposer having a plurality of rotatable blades to chop the food waste into particles and deposit them into a waste drain pipe. The tool includes a resilient plunger having an annular top portion and a downwardly dependent annular side wall terminating in an annular rim adapted to fit and seal around the drain hole of the sink above the garbage disposer, the top portion and side wall defining a plunging chamber. A handle is secured to a top of the top portion, the handle extending vertically upwardly from the plunger and adapted for being grasped and manipulated manually in-hand. A piston member of round cross-section is secured to the handle and to a bottom of the portion, the piston extending vertically downwardly from the plunger opposite the handle. The piston is of a size for inserting through the drain hole of the sink and into the garbage disposer so as to reach most of the volume enclosed within the housing of the garbage disposer when the plunger is compressed against the sink coaxially about the drain hole by manually pushing downwardly on the handle. The piston is adapted for urging food waste through the drain hole and the housing of the garbage disposer for chopping into particles against the plurality of rotatable blades and depositing the particles into the waste drain pipe. The plunger is adapted for plunging to alternately create a pressure above and below ambient to unclog the garbage disposer and the drain pipe.
In a preferred embodiment of the tool, the piston member is of such a size as to closely fit to an inner surface of the housing of the garbage disposer. The outer circumference of the piston member sealingly engages the inner surface of the garbage disposer to form a substantially airtight seal thereagainst. When the garbage disposer is activated, ambient air pressure above the plunger forces the piston member downward toward the rotatable blades due to the below ambient air pressure created by the plurality of rotatable blades chopping the food waste into particles and depositing them into the waste drain pipe. The waste food is pushed against the rotatable blades in an automatic feed fashion. The tool also preferably includes automatic spraying of soap into the garbage disposer.
The above description sets forth, rather broadly, the more important features of the present invention so that the detailed description of the preferred embodiment that follows may be better understood and contributions of the present invention to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described below and will form the subject matter of claims. In this respect, before explaining at least one preferred embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of the construction and to the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or as illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.